Phoenix
by The14thDegree
Summary: The pain of being burned down, only to be reborn and rise again from the ashes to start life anew.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_Engine roaring, heart ablaze with a fury of emotions, the lone rider sets out on a bitter journey to nowhere. _

As the soft puttering of the battered motorcycle died out, its rider, Harima Kenji, exhaled a great sigh. "Seriously? Can my life get any worse after this?" Drooping his shoulders, he gazed toward the grey skies. "Yet another failed application… if someone doesn't accept my manga soon, I'll be in some serious trouble…" He walked towards the door of the strangely dimmed house. "Yakumo? Where could she—" But he never finished his thought. His monologue was broken by none other than the individual mentioned, barreling out the door, tears flowing freely. "No! I can't take this anymore! I'm sorry, Kenji, but I'm leaving!" She ran towards a taxi waiting impatiently, but was stopped by a hand on her wrist. "Yakumo, what—" His query was interrupted, however, by a harsh slap across the face. "I can't take it! You aren't upholding any part of our relationship! I end up paying the bills from my own pocket, I buy all the food, I do all the housework— while all you do is sit locked up in your room all day, eating rice balls and drawing comics! We are through, Harima Kenji!" And with a final sob, she ran to the taxi door, threw her belongings in, and slammed it shut, leaving a stunned Harima at the roadside. With sudden realization, he raced to his motorcycle, thrust the engine on, and sped down the street in hot pursuit.

Finding the taxi stopped at its destination, Harima leaped off his motorcycle, throwing his helmet to the side and rolling into a run. Realizing that he was at an airport, he was hit by the sudden reality that Yakumo was leaving for good. Dashing into the building, he was greeted by the sight of the one who cared for him, flying off in an airplane with a somber expression on her teary face. Dropping to his knees, he slumped in a defeated pile of emotions. "It… got worse…" he groaned. "Hey! Kid! What in hell do you think you're doing? This is a private airline, no ticket, no entry!" A security guard was pushing his way through a crowd towards him. Feeling cold metal being pressed against his skin, he snapped back to life. "JUST WHO DO YOU THINK YOU'RE CUFFING, BASTARD?" With a well aimed kick, he threw the security guard into a wall, just to see two more rushing towards him. "DAMMIT!" Swiveling his body, he sprinted for the exit, hopping back onto his motorcycle. Going as fast as he could, and not caring, he raced off into the horizon, tears streaming from his eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_Blazing flames at her back, the nauseating feeling of dysphoria in her heart, the stony-faced princess prepares for a new beginning. _

The harsh thunder of gunshots rang out through the night as Eri Sawachika crouched behind a wall. She took a moment's breath to reload her pistol before firing three shots back at her pursuer. Hearing the cry go out, she knew she had connected. She quickly ran around the corner and up the steps of the building, knowing her grim mission. Hurriedly gathering the scraps of clothing off of the body of her pursuer, Eri piled the clothes in the middle of the dark room. She slowly soaked the clothes with a bottle of gasoline, took out a match, and in one fluid motion, ignited it and tossed it onto the pile. Without even checking to see if it caught, she dashed out the door and hopped onto her bicycle. Speeding away, she heard a loud boom, the product of her anger. She slowed her pace, and without a look back, rode off into the distance.

While riding, Eri took a little time to think over the past few hectic days. She vividly remembered her mother's screams as she pushed Eri out of their burning mansion. She remembered sitting for hours in a daze. She remembered the grinding of machine guns following her everywhere, even in her dreams. With a long sigh, Eri slowed the pace as a tear rolled from her eye. "No, it's not fair…" she began, but then rethought her statement. Was all of this really not fair? Or could it have been karma, coming back to haunt her? Slowing down even more, her thoughts drifted to her classmate, Harima Kenji. "Hmph… I envy him. Probably living a simple life, riding around carefree on his motorcycle…" She began to weep bitterly, beginning to cough. "I- I'll never see him again… not him or any of my other classmates. But I can't start to think back. I'll start a new life, far away from any complications. Th- the world is probably better off without me." Wiping away her final tear, and donning a grim mask, she concealed her emotions and rode off towards the mountains.


End file.
